Flexible, ‘Soft-Shell’ helmet debuts for snowsports

Hit my head once, shame on me. Hit it again, shame on me. . . again. But at least a new helmet design can take the blows over and over.

That’s the concept from Giro, who today announced the Combyn Helmet, the first “soft-shell” helmet in the snowsports industry.

Combyn Helmet flexes in the hand, pops back to place

It is designed to take multiple impacts and still provide a high level of protection.

Cooler yet, the helmet flexes and bends under pressure and pops back to its original shape.

The helmet will be unveiled at the SIA show in Denver this week.

“We designed the new Combyn helmet for park and pipe riding where repeated impacts are the price of progression,” said Greg Shapleigh of Giro.

Looks like a regular hard hat, but takes repeated blows

The Combyn helmet uses a patent-pending liner made with foam to absorb impact. Two layers of foam are designed to take both “high and low energy shots” and, unlike traditional helmets, be soft and flexible yet durable.

The helmet features eight vents and a removable goggle retainer. It complies with CE EC 1077, a safety standard.

Cost will be $120 when the Combyn comes available in August.

—Sean McCoy

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Stephen Regenold is Founder and Editor-In-Chief of GearJunkie, which he launched as a nationally-syndicated newspaper column in 2002. As a journalist and writer, Regenold has covered the outdoors industry for nearly two decades, including as a correspondent for the New York Times. A father of four small kids, Regenold and his wife live in Minneapolis.